Chapter 4: The Blackwood Secret
1685 Words
Elaria didn't sleep.
She tried.
She turned off the lights, put her phone facedown, and told herself that whatever was happening could wait until morning.
It didn't work.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the black car.
Then the messages.
Then Adrian's face when she mentioned Victoria.
I'm the man trying to keep you alive.
She sat up in bed.
"What does that even mean?"
Her phone remained silent on the bedside table.
For once, she wished it would ring.
She wanted an explanation.
She wanted answers.
Most of all, she wanted to know why her father's name seemed to be connected to a woman who had disappeared three years ago.
She reached for her phone and opened the photograph again.
Her father.
Richard Cole.
And the man standing beside him.
She zoomed in.
The photograph was old and slightly blurred, but the silver pendant was unmistakable.
She had seen it in the article about Victoria.
Her father had never mentioned Adrian's family.
At least, not to her.
Elaria frowned.
Maybe it was a coincidence.
Maybe thousands of people owned similar necklaces.
She was trying to convince herself of that when her phone rang.
Naomi.
Elaria answered.
"Hello?"
"You sound terrible."
"Good morning to you too."
"It's almost nine."
Elaria looked at the clock.
She had slept for barely two hours.
"I didn't sleep."
Naomi's voice immediately changed.
"Why?"
Elaria hesitated.
"Something happened yesterday."
"What kind of something?"
"I got another message."
Silence.
"What did it say?"
Elaria told her.
Then she told her about Victoria.
And finally, she told her about the photograph.
Naomi didn't speak for several seconds.
"Elaria."
"Yes?"
"You need to tell me everything."
"I just did."
"No. You need to tell me why you sound like you're about to cry."
Elaria looked away.
"I'm scared."
Naomi sighed.
"Okay. Don't go to work today."
"I have a job."
"You also have someone threatening you."
"I can't just stop going."
"Why not?"
"Because I need answers."
"Answers can wait."
"Mine can't."
Naomi went quiet.
Then she said softly, "Promise me you'll be careful."
"I will."
"And Elaria?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't trust Adrian."
Elaria's stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"Because you don't know him."
"Neither do you."
"Exactly."
Elaria stared at the floor.
"I'll be careful."
She ended the call.
Ten minutes later, she was dressed and on her way to Blackwood Media.
---
Adrian was already waiting for her.
The moment Elaria stepped into his office, she knew something was different.
He wasn't behind his desk.
He was standing near the window with his hands in his pockets.
"You came."
"Yes."
"I told you to stay home."
"I ignored you."
His jaw tightened.
"I noticed."
She placed her handbag on the chair.
"You owe me answers."
"I know."
"Then start talking."
Adrian turned.
"What exactly do you want to know?"
"Victoria."
His expression hardened.
"What about her?"
"Who was she?"
"My fiancée."
"I know that."
"Then what are you asking?"
"Why did she disappear?"
Silence.
Adrian walked toward his desk.
"Because she wanted to."
Elaria stared at him.
"That's it?"
"That's the truth."
"Then why does everyone think you had something to do with it?"
"Because people prefer a scandal to an uncomfortable truth."
"What truth?"
Adrian looked at her.
"Victoria discovered something about my family."
"What?"
"I don't know."
Elaria's eyebrows lifted.
"You don't know?"
"Not everything."
"Then why are you so sure it wasn't your fault?"
His face became colder.
"Because I loved her."
The answer caught Elaria off guard.
For a moment, she saw something different in him.
Pain.
Real pain.
She softened slightly.
"What happened between you?"
"She became afraid."
"Of you?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Elaria stepped closer.
"Was it your father?"
His eyes sharpened.
"Why would you ask that?"
"Because my father worked for your family."
Silence.
Adrian stared at her.
"Who told you?"
"No one."
She pulled out her phone.
"I found this."
She showed him the photograph.
Adrian took the phone.
The moment he saw it, his expression changed.
"Where did you get this?"
"It's my father's."
He zoomed in.
His thumb stopped.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he handed the phone back.
"You shouldn't have this."
"Why?"
"Because it was supposed to be destroyed."
Elaria's heart began pounding.
"What is it?"
"A mistake."
"That's not an answer."
"It is the only one I'm giving you."
She shook her head.
"You knew my father."
"Yes."
"How well?"
"Well enough."
"Did he hurt your family?"
Adrian's eyes darkened.
"He betrayed them."
Elaria froze.
"My father?"
"Yes."
She took a step back.
"You're lying."
"I have no reason to."
"My father wasn't like that."
"You knew your father as a daughter."
Adrian's voice was quiet.
"I knew him as a businessman."
The words hurt more than she expected.
She looked away.
"My father is dead."
"I know."
"And you still blame him?"
"Some things don't disappear just because the person responsible is gone."
Elaria's eyes filled with anger.
"Then why did you hire me?"
Adrian didn't answer.
She stared at him.
"Why?"
He finally looked at her.
"Because I needed to know whether you knew anything."
Her heart dropped.
"So that's why?"
"Initially."
The honesty stunned her.
"You hired me because of my father."
"Yes."
"And you knew who I was before I walked into your office."
"Yes."
She laughed bitterly.
"Wow."
"Elaria—"
"No."
She shook her head.
"You don't get to say my name like that."
She grabbed her handbag.
"I was wondering why you looked at me like you'd already met me."
Adrian moved toward her.
"I never intended for this to happen."
"What?"
"This."
His eyes held hers.
"The attraction."
Elaria's breath caught.
He continued.
"You weren't supposed to matter."
Her anger faltered.
"But you do."
Silence.
The room seemed to shrink around them.
Adrian stepped closer.
"I hired you because of your father."
His voice dropped.
"But everything I've felt since you walked through that door has been real."
Elaria stared at him.
She wanted to believe him.
That was the problem.
She wanted to.
And she hated herself for it.
"You should have told me."
"I know."
"Then why didn't you?"
"Because I was afraid you'd leave."
The honesty hit her harder than anything else.
Adrian Blackwood.
The man who controlled everything.
Was afraid of losing her.
Before she could respond, his phone rang.
He answered immediately.
"Yes?"
His expression changed.
"What?"
Elaria watched him.
"Where?"
A pause.
"Don't touch anything. I'm coming."
He ended the call.
"What happened?"
"Marcus found something."
"What?"
Adrian looked at her.
"Your father's old business records."
Elaria's heart stopped.
"Where?"
"At my father's old estate."
"Then I'm coming with you."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I don't know what we'll find."
"Exactly."
"Elaria—"
"I'm coming."
He stared at her.
"You don't listen."
"Neither do you."
For a moment, they simply looked at each other.
Then Adrian sighed.
"Fine."
---
The Blackwood estate sat on the outskirts of Lagos, hidden behind tall gates and enormous trees.
It didn't look like a home.
It looked like a place built to keep secrets.
Elaria sat beside Adrian in the back of his car.
Neither spoke during the drive.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable.
It was something else.
Heavy.
Anticipatory.
Adrian glanced at her.
"You can still change your mind."
"I'm not going to."
"I thought so."
She looked out the window.
"Did you really love Victoria?"
He was quiet.
"Yes."
"Do you still?"
His eyes remained on the road ahead.
"I don't know."
Elaria nodded.
She wasn't sure why the answer bothered her.
When they arrived, Marcus was waiting at the entrance.
"Elaria," he said.
"Marcus."
His eyes moved between her and Adrian.
"You brought her."
"She insisted."
Marcus sighed.
"Of course she did."
They entered the estate.
The interior was beautiful but strangely cold.
Old paintings covered the walls.
A grand staircase led to the upper floor.
Elaria noticed Adrian looking at one particular portrait.
An older man.
Hard expression.
Cold eyes.
"Your father?"
"Yes."
She looked at the portrait again.
He looked nothing like Adrian.
But somehow, the same darkness existed in their eyes.
Marcus led them into a study.
A large wooden box sat on the desk.
"This was found behind a false wall."
Adrian approached it.
"What's inside?"
"Documents."
Marcus opened the box.
Elaria stepped closer.
Old contracts.
Photographs.
Bank statements.
Letters.
Then she saw it.
Her father's name.
RICHARD COLE.
Her fingers trembled.
She picked up the first document.
Adrian looked over her shoulder.
"This is the agreement."
"Between my father and your family?"
"Yes."
She read the first page.
Her eyes widened.
"Adrian."
"What?"
"This isn't a business agreement."
He took the document from her.
His eyes moved quickly across the page.
His expression changed.
"What is it?"
Elaria looked at Marcus.
Then at Adrian.
"It's a transfer of ownership."
"Of what?"
She pointed to the document.
"Blackwood Media."
Silence.
Adrian looked at the page again.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"Because my father never transferred ownership."
Elaria swallowed.
"According to this, he did."
Marcus stepped forward.
"Let me see that."
Adrian handed it to him.
Marcus read it.
His face went pale.
"This changes everything."
Before anyone could speak, something crashed upstairs.
Elaria jumped.
Adrian immediately moved in front of her.
"Stay here."
Another sound.
A door slammed.
Marcus pulled out his phone.
Adrian looked toward the staircase.
Then he heard footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
Coming down.
Elaria's heart pounded.
Someone was inside the house.
Adrian reached for her hand.
"Don't move."
She looked at him.
His face was cold.
Focused.
Protective.
The footsteps stopped.
Silence.
Then a man's voice came from the hallway.
"Looking for answers, Adrian?"
Adrian's grip tightened around Elaria's hand.
His eyes darkened.
"Come out."
A shadow appeared at the entrance.
And Elaria realized something terrifying.
The voice was familiar.
She had heard it before.
On the phone.
The same person who had been threatening her.
The man stepped into view.
Elaria's breath caught.
She knew him.
And Adrian knew him too.
Because he was standing beside Victoria Hayes in the photograph from three years ago.
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